Sweet Baby James

Almost offensively fine

Not bad, too slow

This was a difficult one to rate, as I didn't love it but also can recognize it's very good at what it's trying to be. Overall I'd say not my cup of tea but can totally understand others loving it.

All his songs sound the same to me. (fire and rain is a classic though.)

He’s got talent. Nice guitar playing. Pretty songs. I’m just not very interested.

Really dull

Meh, bland middle-of-the-road pap. And WTF was that Steamroller of Love song?

Kind of boring. Steamroller and Suite for 20 G were decent.

I don't feel like I could trust someone who chooses to play this album.

Not a bad album, just not my genre. But very boring 1,5/5

I like the title track but the rest is a bit dull.

I’m sure most music has a place in this world but I’m not sure where this belongs. Certainly not in my world!

Very limited instrumentation and what there was, was pretty dull. His voice is good but the songs were not.

This feels like what chat GPT would come up with if you asked it for some saccharine sweet country, blues, rock, easy listening Americana. There’s no denying he’s got a lovely voice and it all feels very chilled and wholesome, and no doubt you could take him home to meet your Mum. There’s also no denying that it’s just too lame for me.

James Taylor is one of those artists that a lot of people either love or hate. I am kinda ambivalent about him. What I do know is that this album doesn't have "Chili Dog" on it and therefore loses a star. If you're going to have a song about hotdogs that must be on every fuckin album.

Chilled country, easy listen. Bit bland overall with a couple of hits. 2.5/5

He's just not for me. Too syrupy. As I searched for it (I don't own it) I noticed one site listing his genre: folk, children’s music. I'm sure he’s not actually considered children’s music by anyone irl, but it still made sense to me. A bit like Graham Nash (even his CSNY stuff!), I can’t take it seriously as a grown up cos it’s just too…idk…wet? I gave it a fair listen and I’m sure I’m overlooking lots of nuance, but I'll not be swinging by “poor old loving man JT”’s way anytime soon. Offensively inoffensive.

Ehhhhh... none of this is particularly bad but it's very inoffensive and bland. I don't mind some soft pop music but this doesn't have anything to get me hooked. Pretty forgettable.

Nope

Correct, sans plus

[MichaelScottyellingNO.gif]

grew up listening to James Taylor because my mom loves his music, but I have never really liked it. So nasally, kinda whiney, not pleasant for me in life experiencing

Boooooooooooring. But inoffensive

Taylor's voice is too smooth for my liking. Overall this is bland and forgettable.

Ouais bof, j'ai déjà écouté mieux en country. Jesus Jesus Jesus mama Jesus lonely cowboy ok la flemme. J'ai bien aimé Blossom quand même.

Not my thing

some of the acoustic parts played on the bass strings sound good. some nice steel guitar. smug. bland. music: hated. (⌐■_■)

Vilken röst! Men vilka tråkiga låtar!

Kändes rätt oinspirerat och sömnigt.

Unfortunately did nothing for me - not to say it wasn't good, just not my speed at all.

Nesten en 3er, litt tam

Meh

This album answered so many questions for me. Unfortunately they were questions like 'What if John Denver had been heavily into sleeping pills?' or 'What if Nick Drake had much more confidence, but much less talent?'. Not for me.

This was okay. 2 stars. I do like the sound of the acoustic guitar. I didn't think I'd know any of his songs, but I have definitely heard Fire and Rain.

not for me. steamroller made me intensely uncomfortable keep your cement to yourself creep

Didint like. boring. whatever. who cares

Way too saccharine for my tastes.

The folks songs are fine, but the "blues" songs are peak cringe. I can't think of anyone further from being, "A churning urn of burning funk" than James Taylor. I just don't really understand the point of this type of homogenized third person story music.

I was forced to listen to a fair amount of James Taylor as a child, and never enjoyed it, and this album did not change my mind. The best parts of the album merely reach forgettable and inoffensive, and on the whole it sounds like a cross between Raffi and Neil Young (who, to be clear, I do like). Sunny Skies and Blossom are straight up Raffi, and the only way I can try and process Steamroller is as satire. I can’t imagine anyone being able to unironically enjoy hearing James Taylor, who sounds like if Mr. Rogers decided to quit TV and embark on a folk music career, sing that he’s going to “inject your soul with some sweet rock n’ roll and shoot you full of rhythm and blues” and call himself “churning urn of burning funk”, “a hefty hunk of steaming junk”, and a “napalm bomb just guaranteed to blow your mind”. Like, sorry bro, you are maybe the whitest person alive, you are not cut out for singing the blues. He’s just entirely toothless and so incredibly middle of the road. He’s like if cottage cheese was a singer.

Middle of the road music. So middle it makes you ache for more.

Background music? Goes by so quick, only one line from Fire and Rain caught me.

Personal opinion: 1/5 -1 Sappy -1 Country music -1 Americana -1 Too much “oh lord” and thick accent that is typically shared by people with strongly opposed political views to me Opinion with atheist and anti-American biases aside: 3/5 The record is well done and James Taylor is obviously talented. I would rather drive in silence than listen to this on a long roadtrip but I understand why it’s award-winning.

It didn't click with me that much. Neat to listen to for the piece of history at least

How does James Taylor write brilliant & deeply meaningful lyrics like "Fire & Ice" yet writes the juvenile "Steamroller." For every sophisticated production "Country Road" there's two trite tales of "Sunny Skies" & "Blossom." THe blues songs are nauseating and somewhat insulting. There's brilliance here but its only 3 or 4 songs, the rest is forgettable and poor effort.

Noget af det var ret catchy men altså, det var jo ikke noget særligt

Except for the inclusion of a few fun blues moments and, of course, the one song everyone knows… I might have zoned this completely out. I’m sure this really spoke to people in 1970, but I couldn’t connect to it this morning. “Steamroller”: love the blues but glad there’s a guitar on his lap hiding the boner. “Fire and Rain”: the hit. This was definitely a go to for creepy autistic guitar guys at parties in the 70’s. “… Oh Baby, Don’t You Loose Your Lip on Me”: another blues banger just to prove he can be Miracle Whip when he isn’t so determined to be regular ass Mayonnaise. “Suite for 20 G”: there was money for other musicians this whole time? We really did all that boring bedtime music just to finish the albums with drums and horns??? Borderline unforgivable.

Another country/folk singer songwriter on this list. Again. Granted, his voice is great, and the guitar works are not bad, too. It is still not my kind of music.

A lot of talk about Jesus. Was he so Vain? The album was alright, just not my thing.

Country folk... this list seems to really enjoy country folk. This one wasn't too bad but heavily plays into the country stereotype with its lyrics.

Average quality material about cowboys and that. He can play and sing , but says nothing interesting

Lovely voice but the material is generally weak.

this feels a little like a dish that's missing seasoning. its not bad and i could eat it, but it will be lacking that kick of spice. perhaps it would be more enjoyable if i was in a different mood. enjoyed steamroller blues the most bc well, blues.

My first reaction was disappointment and dread and that was proven to be the right expectation. Obviously I've heard the typical James Taylor songs but never really delved into his catalog. When a "cover" of Oh Susannah came on I thought it was a joke or it was going to someplace else, but no, it was just James Taylor singing about a banjo on his knee. Excruciating.

Very boring and he even did covers. What's the point?

Not bad but not really my cup of tea.

Boring

Ooooof. I feel so conflicted. This is NOT good but by jolly "Fire and Rain" is catchy as hell isn't it.

ähm, ja. singer/songwriter mit blueseinflüssen. geht so.

Fine but boring. A couple songs I enjoyed but rest didn’t stick with me.

When he tries to step out of soft rock (whether it be blues like "Steamroller" or folk like "Oh Susannah), the results are pretty dire. As long as he's sticking to soft rock, it's fine enough, but mostly it makes me wish I had gotten Tapestry today instead. Oh well, at least this has "Fire and Rain", and Carole King playing piano.

Not bad but very samey and uninspiring. Pretty much every song is just soft vocals over acoustic guitar, which for me is not that interesting. 5/10

Honestly not a bad album, I didn't LOVE any songs but I didn't hate any either. My fav was Suite for 20 G

Not mine

Sap city bitch. Poor mans John Denver

way too pleasant and unoffensive

I really like a lot of the instrumentation, but his vocals are just like room temperature froyo. No thanks.

I'm glad this was quite a short album. It's pretty inoffensive stuff, but it's a style of music I can do without.

This is too wet for me.

Famously, my uncle, who listens to Alice in Chains, Tool, Nirvana etc. (typical Gen X rotation) said that if he could see one concert from any person at any time, it would be James Taylor. Something struck me so funny about this, that I’ve held onto that factoid forever. I thought “maybe he’s just trying to impress my aunt?” I don’t know why after a close to 30 year relationship, he’d be trying to score points by pretending to like a folk singer songwriter, but I digress. Maybe he was on to something? We’ll find out in the next hour or so. Solve a mystery for me, James (pronounced Ham-Es). Sweet Baby James - I hate cowboy songs but I’ll be damned if this wasn’t nice. Great job James. Not my favourite, but decent. Lo and Behold - I’m ashamed of myself, but I really liked this. This kind of song rides a razor thin line between great and completely unbearable. He did a great job here. If he even attempted to get really attitude-y, I’d probably be tearing Sunny Skies - Like how can this not be funny when put in the context of my opening paragraph? My Nova Scotian uncle who loves “Man in the Box” sitting front row at a church listening to Sunny Skies. This is a little too bubblegum for me. Let’s keep it moving. Steamroller - The least powerful blues man ever. This is like those YouTube videos where they do lounge covers of Cannobal Corpse songs. This has moments but it sleepily does feel like a parody of blues. Please never put horns in blues music ever again. Some doofus blowing the saxophone over an excellent guitar solo should be a crime. I don’t even really like guitar solos. Country Road - I initially made one of my classic typos, and wrote “Country Toad,” which I think we can all agree, is an adorable image. That is the only cowboy apparel I approve of. This is fading for me. My lighter is running out of butane, and the senior citizens behind us are falling asleep. Bring it up, James. Oh, Susannah - Oh, Susannah, you’re here. Uhhh well this was supposed to be a James Taylor concert, but I suppose you could play a song or two. What a rip. It was just another song about being southern. Not terrible. More likeable than the cosplay blues number. Fire and Rain - Boring, yet not offensive. The low buzz is cool. Blossom - Is this about that show? Just another middle of the road song. Anywhere Like Heaven - Um James? People do count the time. It’s called age. We keep pretty good track of that on this continent. Kind of ingrained in the culture at this point. Although in the loosey goosey 70’s who knows. I’m six orchids away from my Age of Enlightenment man. No, you’re a 31 year old car wash attendant from Boise. I like making stuff up. Oh Baby, Don’t You Loose Your Lip on Me - Don’t call yourself LoverMan JT. Nice blues attempt. I hate doubling up what I say and what I write, but he really does remind me of if they brought in a musician to do blues on Sesame Street. The description fits like a glove. Suite for 20 G - 20G?? And people are freaking out about 5G. Yeah this is riverboat music to the fullest extent. Maybe my uncle secretly dreams of the ol St. Louis to Nawlins authentic 1920’s riverboat steamship cruise adventure brought to you by Raising Cane’s Chicken. Well. This was fine wasn’t it? A nice soothing half an hour with the elder statesman of horn-based white guy blues. Most of this was wholly inoffensive and wouldn’t be out of place on in the background. I wouldn’t lunge at the aux “auxperator” in an attempt to silence this, but if you catch me putting this on for myself, call a neurologist. I hope my aunt and uncle are able to fulfill their dream and see James play a half empty church, but lord almighty, I think I’ll stay in that night. This album feels like tea. And much like tea, I’ll never seek it out, but it will sometimes do in a pinch. 2.5 HIGHLIGHTS: Lo and Behold

Some good guitar playing, but overall too sickly sweet for me. And I really think he should keep his "sement-mixer" to himself!

I'm willing to bet that for people my age, all of their dads love this record. It's too sappy for me. Good guitar playing, but he's not exactly Paul Simon in that regard. Or as a lyricist. The thing about this album is that it's just...lame. Like there's nothing behind any of the songs that makes me want to like them. Fire and Rain is a good song, I've always liked that one but the rest? No thanks. 2/5

This album is often hailed as a cornerstone of the singer-songwriter movement, and it’s got some big name musicians contributing, which adds to its reputation. That said, I don’t quite get why it’s held in such high regard. To me, it feels like the most standard, run of the mill example of singer-songwriter music—pretty plain and unremarkable. At least it’s only about 30 minutes long, because if it had gone on any longer, I would have lost my mind, and gone crazy out of boredom.

I can't say it's objectively bad but it is bland and saccharine

I really wanted to like this but I just didn't. It was subpar, like nothing felt special or particularly talented. Sort of like the Elvis of country in a very bad way

James Taylor is weird. His guitar playing is great, his song writing can be good. But his voice is just too smooth, like it's too nice, there's no edge, I can hardly pick out any emotion from it. Some of it kinda works, but when he goes into his, I guess, seduction tracks it's like: what is this? Some kid at school who's never talked to a woman trying to copy the bigger kids but having no idea what he's saying. "I'm a steamroller baby" jeez. On that note he does love to drop a G-bomb every couple of tracks and I get bored of religious stuff quickly.

Pleasant enough background country rock. Prefer the more bluesy tracks, but don't particularly dislike any of it. That said, I wouldn't choose to listen to it again.

Ok

There are a few good (Fire and Rain) to excellent (Sweet Baby James) on here. Threes probably some deep psychological issue here, but a lot of the other ones make me want to jump off a bridge.

Pleasant but dull. Like a lot of people I know!!!

Just not a fan of this style of country/folk. My favourite track was Steamroller - the only blues rock style song. The rest I didn’t enjoy.

This is fine. It's pretty saccharine and doesn't feel very authentic. But the guitar playing is good.

This is definitely not an album for me. Boringly sweet with less bite than a 98 year old who has lost his dentures. It's not a bad album, it's just not something I would ever choose to listen to.

Een beetje saaiig album? het houd het midden tussen country en folk, maar eigenlijk leunt het voor mij iets meer naar Folk. Ik had eerlijk gezegd best een beetje zin in een lekker fout countryalbumpie, maar dat zit er dus niet echt in. Maar ja, dit is dus echt vrij gezapige, saaie muziek. het duurt gelukkig ook maar een half uur, maar zelfs in die tijd dacht ik continue verlangend aan de muziek die ik hierna zou luisteren... 1001 Albums, je hebt het weer gedaan; een album wat zo zaaddodend is dat ik bijna punk rock begin te missen! FAVO: Blossom

This is nice music, but it's a bit... Well... boring. It's all in the same tone. Perfect background music for generic US rom-com about country bumpkins. Bit too jesus-ey for me too.

Dull

Music for people who say they don't have sex, they make love. Gross.

This is pretty middle of the road and meh. Just don't care about James Taylor at all. It's fine, but man it's not something I would want to listen to while floating in space.

Sweet Baby Inc detected. Soft, inoffensive, can't imagine anyone choosing this over anything else

+1 star just because of the steamroller song

I finally get it. This must be what folk sounds like to people who hate folk. This is so…nothing. It’s like a dry musty fart in an attic. And then the smell of Steam Roller Blues hits in what might be the most embarrassing song I’ve heard on this list yet. Truly a triumph in sucking.

First time listening. Ok. Maybe not quite my preferred genre.

Not sure who the target audience is for this but I don’t think it’s me. At least it was only 31 minutes!

I like “fire and rain” and I think his voice is pleasant. Here he uses it in service of an incredibly boring album. I’m not sure when I would ever listen to this. Not sure what mood this sets.

Fire and Rain is still pretty good. But that’s about it for me. It’s very pretty, if this is your thing. There’s a lot of honky tonk, white boy blues, slide guitar and Americana. Suite for 20G sounds like Carol King wrote it for him, but I still don’t like it. This is just meh, for me.

There's a few hidden gems here and there, but overall, it is the same folk nonsense that I've already grown tired of after hearing Bob Dylan. The only difference here is that James Taylor does have a nice singing voice.

Country isn't going to be my jam. Too much Jesus, not enough movement. The saving grace from the 1 is the occasional talk of loneliness and addiction. It looked like it was going to pick up momentum on the last song, but then the album was over.

singer songwriter LEAVE ME ALONE

this made me feel like i was on sesame street not crazy about the blues tracks, giving white guy plays the blues vibes. more folk centric stuff was nice, but song writing didn’t feel strong enough to blow me away, with a few exceptions. his voice is sorta bland. the blues and god shit really drags it down. 4.5/10

Not bad just pretty boring.

too sweet and too sugary for me. but I can see why many people love this album! very decent but probably just not my style. "lo and behold" is prob my favourite. would love to hear it as a soundtrack to some detective movie

1. jamez - 1.5 2. behold - 1 3. zunny - 1 4. zteam - 1.5 5. country - 1.5 6. zuzanah - 1.5 7. fire - 2 8. blozzom - 1.5 9. heaven - 1 10. baby - 2 11. zuite - 1

Nice and easy. Reading the reviews, I see the 90s babies hate it with a passion. That’s ok, I hate the gear-grinding white noise they call music. Having said that, Sweet Baby James is a bit meh, so 2.

Sure you have “Fire and Rain” but all the other tracks basically sound the same. Taylor’s voice is nice but the music puts me to sleep. 2/5

Мы поняли, тебе одиноко. Кантри стайл

I expected to like this a lot more. James Taylor has always been a blind spot for me in a genre I usually love. I found this pretty boring and cheesy.

OK.

James "Steamroller" Taylor brings it on this one, bro. Laurel Canyon's own "Mr. Excitement" drops eleven tracks ready-made for the grocery store, elevator, or dentist's office. Give him a half-star for inventing a system for tuning the guitar that compensates for the vagaries of the instrument that prevent mathematical perfection. Try it. It works!

Hypnotically white

MOR. Music for people who have given up on excitement and wear slippers and socks.

Bof. C'est souvent joli, mais pas vraiment mémorable. Vibe typique folk-rock années 70, ce disque a sans doute eu beaucoup d'influence sur beaucoup d'artistes, mais aujourd'hui c'est un peu beige. C'est probable que je n'écouterai plus jamais ça. Ce qui irrite, c'est qu'il y a tellement d'autre musique qui pourrait être inclue dans cette liste à la place de ce type de disque, mais ça nécessiterait d'aller au-delà de la culture anglo-saxonne qui domine outrageusement ici.

Nah

Very much not my thing, couldn’t make it through the first track on my first go, but listened through on a different day and can appreciate it might be good if it is your thing.

Really middle of the road stuff. Couldn’t get into it at all

Sweet baby James Bit too tame different styles tried blues, folk and southern fried His voice nice music paying price not amazed just a bit dazed

Was ready to dismiss this as I don't like country, but Steamroller had some nice blues/brass.

UgH. Oh God! Is there a greater. more self-important, overated muslin out there?!?!? Damn that a tool. sorry - not. a. fan.

Vähän sais olla rouheenpaa, alun bluesimpi ote vihjaili siihen. Oh, Susannahin balladisointi noin on ihan tyhmää, ei sen kuulu olla kaihoinen biisi. Menee hyvin tunnelmapalana illan hämärtyessä, tietyssä mielentilassa imelyyskin voi toimia. Mutta pelkään, ettei biiseissä ole tarpeeksi kerroksia.

Standardisoitu Dylan - täydellinen ajankuva. Nautin paikoin levyn sisältämästä musiikista.

You're so James

Boring. Next.

The softer singer-songwriter stuff is nice, although somewhat sentimental. The attempts at blues are quite awkward.

It was ok. Not big on folk music Will I listen to again: 2%

all of the songs on this literally sound the same. even the lyrics.

Not for me

Classic douchebag + guitar music

Bland. 2/5

This album doesn't sound bad at all. That's not the issue. The issue is that it sounds utterly and all-around unremarkable. Just pure background filler. A wide range of styles also doesn't mean all that much if all of them are performed in a milquetoast manner. Ironically, Suite for 20 G was the only engaging track.

Cant really say any of the tracks grabbed me

Fire and Rain is one of the greatest songs ever written. Full Stop. The rest is great- songwriting is incredible. I’m just in the wrong frame of mind so I’ll say 2.5

Probably would give this album a miss in the future

p216. 1970. 2 stars. The source of an entire generation of 1970s male middle of the road singer/songwriters. There are a handful of standout songs (Sweet Baby James, Fire and Rain) and decent guitar picking, but it lacks any sense of excitement and there is a LOT of bland filler. On the plus side, it's short.

2 out of 5. Fire and Rain was the standout song for me on this album, but it was otherwise a little uninteresting as a whole.

mid af

Pleasant soft rock, almost too sweet

I dont know not a big folksy guy

Steamroller is a surprise. The other stuff is good. It’s just background music.

Okay for background music at work but wouldn't listen again.

Lost a star for that weak a$$ Steamroller Blues. Sing the blues if you're gonna sing the blues. Other stuff is pretty nice tho.

Is this really music? Is like poetry with slight musical accompaniment. I couldn't listen to this back in the day, and I thought maybe I could now, since I became able to listen to Dylan and Neil Young. But sigh, no. I'll give 2 stars to avoid getting hate.

Ok in the background, nice enough voice, but a bit too country and a bit too sickly sweet for.my taste

One of the cousins had a kid named James, and he was always referred to as Sweet Baby James... literally ALL THE TIME, to the point of "was this a joke?" I still don't get it.

Meh.

Short and unremarkable.

Just a bit boring. There were a few moment where I could maybe see why it was on this list, but mostly this album didn’t really speak to me. Highlights: Fire and Rain

“you said you never met one girl who had as many james taylor records as you but i do” - taylor swift in begin again but wtf taylor because this was not worthy enough to own on record

i love this kind of sound but holy fuck this shit was so boring i felt myself losing it from track one i am going to set myself on fire and pray it doesn't rain (YES THAT TRACK WAS CHEEKS TOO) if i have to listen to this for one second longer i am on track three as i am typing this i am so sick of this i hate his voice oh my fod what is he evn saying oh my god please shut uuuuupppppppppp i was enjoying this song i was like okkkaaayyyy finally something musically interesting but eventually i reached: steamroller blues is absolutely vile holy fuck what is he SAYING I A, GPOGN TVNONNOJAEVNVJNABGENJOAEFVLJKNEAFVLJNEFVANJAVEFJNNOVEJONTEVAUNOTNOUGNOUOINTVEONTBGOHJBETAEAJBTHJBEGOHBGEAJOBEGJAOJGABEJAEGJAGBEJGOBIAEBGJOIEAJIOBEGAJIOBETGIJOTEJIOGBEAJBGIEOABIJOEGAIJOEGBAIJOBGAE 1001. albums to hear before you die ???????????. this album asks the question: what about 1 album that will make you want to die when you hear it? is there anything worse than a singer-songwriter who can't sing or songwrite???? what the fuck are you good for james? exactly! i want to give this a 1 so bad like literally so bad but i feel like its not horrifying enough to be a 1 so imagine the 2 is a 1.5 or like a 1.1 i listened to the whole thing and all i will say is i doubt i will return to this album again and give it a second chance because it was so boring 'Anywhere Like Heaven' was actually alright though. 1-1.5/5

boring

Forgettable, bland and not something I would return too.

Relatively pleasant, but sex steamroller aside I don't know if I could tell you about anything I just listened to. Washes over you in a loose, ineffective way, regardless of content. Not a bad thing... just barely a thing at all.

Why is everyone complaining about how too sweet it is? It's freaking bland af. All the sugar in it tasted artificial.

Sweet Baby James really laying on the sweet with this one, I don't like the album title or the cover art. I felt like I was in Mr.Rogers' Neighborhood in a way that this might be fine for a specific age group but I am definitely not it. It felt hokey, tepid, and overall weak. There's a few classics on here but even those are just ok. People talk about James Taylor as if he's some Americana Folk God but he doesn't feel genuine and deep enough to me. This deserves to be off the 1001 list for "Steamroller Blues" alone, don't even get me started on "Oh, Susannah." The more I write this review the more I'm disliking the album... ::a hefty hunk of steaming junk:: jingles in the background.

Pretty sappy and much too sweet baby. A few knowns that are ok but it's mostly milktoast blues and watered down r&b. Was he doing something on this album that deserves the list? Very missable IMO but not the worst thus far...1.7.

James Taylor was able to build a career off of a handful of quick acoustical folk songs. He has a certain sound that obviously scratches the itch for a lot of people (pre-millenial 40 year house wives?). Sweet Baby James is firmly is his wheelhouse as his debut that quickly made him a household name. Every James Taylor song sounds the same to me and Sweet Baby James is no different. It's firmly "average" in almost every way. It's not my personal cup of tea but it's also not bad and at 30 minutes there are worse choices. I guess credit where credit is due. 2.4 stars

While I heard and liked the classics during the early 70s, I also remember when the album JT came out later and really soured on his style. Listening to this album for the first time, I am not really impressed by the somewhat saccharine vibe. And even the classics seem less engaging, as if they're shortchanged. While I am very sad that he had to suffer the personal travails that plagued him, I can't engage musically. Things generally seem incomplete, embodied perhaps by Suite for 20 G, which the internet tells me was three fragments strung together.

Fire and Rain, Sweet Baby James and Country Road are great. The rest of the songs weren’t bad, they just suffered in comparison to the great ones.

Wow, this is putting me to sleep. Steamroller is so bad, it feels like he lost a bet, or something. The nerve of him recording Oh, Susannah. Who said that was a good idea? Fire and Rain is still pretty good. But that’s about it for me. It’s very pretty, if this is your thing. There’s a lot of honky tonk, white boy blues, slide guitar and Americana. Suite for 20G sounds like Carol King wrote it for him, but I still don’t like it. This is just meh, for me.

Somewhere between 2 and 3. It was perfectly pleasant and all, but I also had a hard time caring about it the majority of the time. A few nice tracks.

Not a big fan of this at all. Singer songwriter with country leanings is my kryptonite

Really really not my thing

I'll give it to James Taylor that his songwriting is on point and at times creative. But the thick layer of soft rock radio plastered over everything is too much for me to take.

Musicality is too few and far between to make this an interesting listen. Mostly its a just a soft rock slog.

This wasn’t the worst but nothing too exciting. Thankfully it was mercifully short- not as good as like Simon and Garfunkel or Bob Dylan but not terrible

First off I get Carole King without the tunes vibe. All very pleasant but not grabbing me really in any way. Later, some of the softest, must unconvincing blues I've ever heard. The brass really rescues Steamroller when it comes in halfway through. I'm not that familiar with the original ring a ding ding version of Oh Susannah but I feel offended on it's behalf, this version sounds like it's been castrated. Kinda like a 70s David Gray? Sure does go on about rock and roll a lot for something that neither rocks nor rolls. Suite for 20G might have been ok in isolation but I was so sick of it by then I only enjoyed it a little.

Eigentlich ganz schön. Ist aber so was von 1970-Schnulze, dass man es heute nicht mehr hören mag

I don’t like country but this was listenable But it does get boring Sometimes it sounded like it could be in Better Call Saul so that was good 2.5

Most of it is boring. Towards the end there's some better songs, but the performance is still boring. I don't think I'll ever play this record again. Favorite song: Blossom.

#186. REM, and then James Taylor back to back? Fuck me, right? Al Gore's rhythm seems to be out to get me. I've heard some of his songs before, but for obvious reasons never listened to a whole album before. It's exactly as I assumed it would be though. About as good as any one of his singles, just more. 2/5: James Taylor just seems to me like a less pretentious, but also less good Neil Young or something.

+1 point for his warm voice, and for the nostalgia and how folk sooths Boomers. +1 point for the cellos in a country rock song (fire and rain) -1 point for silly use of stereo for the guitars L&R and then rounding up to 2, as I dont hate it, its not offensive or horrible, its ok, I just dont love it. But I wont listen again.... hence sub 3

meh

Sure grandpa, let's get you to bed.

One of the reason why most people thinks country music sucks

I have nothing to say about this one.

I could've lived without ever hearing this album and will never voluntarily listen to it again. 2 stars instead of 1 because he can definitely sing.

An extra star for comedy lyrics in Steamroller. Otherwise sugary rubbish

OK boomer blues and folksy pop.

My previous knowledge of James Taylor is that Taylor Swift likes him

1.6

folkcountryrollo.

His voice is good, but it's just another country album among all the others around the list. No novelty.

the eyebrows.....

This is likely the greatest folk music you will ever hear. But it’s still folk.

Not a big fan of this. James' voice isn't interesting enough to carry the simple melodies and lack of rhythm. Fire and rain was good but not much else worth a relisten.

folkcountryrollo.

As far as cheesy singer/songwriter albums go this was not too bad. I love Fire and Rain, even with the heavy handedness present here and in the rest of the songs.

Niet voor mij

Not my style. James Taylor is technically proficient though

A little too folk-sy americana for me. The couple of blues songs were a nice change of pace. No really my jam overall

Taylor looks about as pissed off at having to sing this saccharine bullshit as I am listening to it. Steamroller Blues is apparently parody, which I guess does come across but it comes immediately after a song where Taylor seems to sing about a personification of the fucking sky completely unironically. Or perhaps it’s all irony. Oops! All Irony! I don’t vibe with this at all. It’s very whitebread, very clean cut American Boomer music. Most people who are giving this positive reviews seem to refer to it as the musical equivalent to comfort food. If this is comfort food, it’s processed American instant Mac n Cheese, an approximation of good home-cooked food that takes up less of the time, but provides a lesser experience. Give me the quiet melancholy of Jackson Browne or the tortured spiritualism of Leonard Cohen over this any day. With them you know where you stand, you know when things are ironic, you know when they’re sincere, and none of it is twee, like Taylor is. The only high spot is Fire and Rain, where the emotions don’t get muddled, it’s straightforward and not sickly sweet. But Jackson Browne would have done a much better version of it, both performance-wise and lyrically. I think Taylor includes too much simplicity, and in this genre, there needs to be a balance.

See previous album comment

This is very close to a one star, but the more America-like moments (the band America, I mean) keep it above the water for me, and the final song is at least something different, actually feeling like that "rock" and "funk" he was talking so much about earlier on the album. But those country tracks, and especially those blues tracks? Man, those SUCKED. Just hanging on by a thread, but can't in good faith give it a one.

just dreadfully boring

Boring, Christian, hillbilly, boomer music. Some catchy tunes and nice melodies, but overall not my vibe at all. Uninteresting. Fav songs: sweet baby james

A bit of a drag but short enough.

James Taylor’s got a soothing voice so I can see why his music would appeal to people - it appeals to me sometimes. But it’s mostly pretty bland and these songs don’t seem like anything special.

Vähän jäi taas ”yleisfolkin” tasolle 2/5

Meh. Didn't hate it but not likely to be coming back

At one point James Taylor says he's going to play some rocks and roll for the audience. This is a lie.

Liked Fire and Rain going into this album. Still too dul.

Some nice bits but not something I'd enjoy much

90% of this was just the same cadence and tone, so I was pretty bored for the most part. There was nothing particularly bad about the singing or guitar playing, he just needed to throw a little something extra in here or there

Now look, it's James Taylor. He's great! A classic! He's also very much "your dad's music." There's also something about this era of music that eagerly pushed for unearned Blues songs that sound great musically, but still seem flat. I can almost see the drunk middle-aged housewives poorly dancing in front of me while clapping their hands over their heads out of rhythm and shouting "woo!" throughout the whole song while I listen to these two out-of-place tracks on the album. This may be an overly harsh and undeserved criticism towards Mr. Taylor's musically capable talents, along with other artists from the same period who are guilty of the same crime, but it's hard not to recognize it for its oddly specific and nuanced framework when it has been imposed upon your formative days without consent. Overall, it's a solid production throughout, but starts to blend too seemlessly into each lull before a jarring tonal shift reminds you that there have been different songs playing this whole time. However, when Taylor hits, he knocks it out of the park. "Fire and Rain" is an undeniable classic that deserves a listen any time it comes on. 3/5

Little on the lame side - not my vibe :(

Honestly was a snooze. He was putting me to sleep at a time I wasn’t that tired so a little disappointing and boring. He was also a little country sounding so just a no for me. I do see why people would like him though, just not for me.

Sweet Fanny Adams.

Me he aburrido. Lo siento. Ya sé que es famoso para muchos pero no me ha interesado nada.

It's fine, absolutely not my type of music. A lot of the songs follow a similar structure and sound very similar.

Det var harmløst, men kan ikke huske en eneste sang.

JT's voice is angelic, yet he's got this super-phony smarmy feel to his music ... and listening to him try and sing blues is super-cringy. Despite my hatred for it, I was incredibly bored by this album. All I could think of were Sesame Street episodes where some famous singer comes on and teaches kids how to count by twos while playing guitar on the front steps ...

Was er macht, gefällt mir recht gut, das Album lahmt allerdings etwas. Steamroller Blues und Oh Baby, Don’t You Loose Your Lip On Me sind für mich Highlights. Trotzdem noch keine drei Sterne.

I found his voice lovely on the country tracks but thin on the blues.

Was expecting a classic. It’s not. But it’s short. Can’t beat short

This album and Taylor in general are the anti-gonzo - The compromise between actual rock and the easy listening take-it-safe-just-do-what-everyone-else-is-doing mentality that was used to poison the counter-culture movement of America in the last half of the 20th century. Its the lowest common denominator of music for a bunch of disillusioned hippies finally realizing in 1970 that they werent ever going to get any of that freedom and consciousness expansion shit they thought they were going to win 5 years ago. I feel like I should maybe rate it higher just because its finally not a britpop album on this awful list, but I cant bring myself to give it better than a 2. 2/5

rgenf

Two good songs and then bluuuurgh

was really enjoying this at first, but the back half is a real dud. sorry james ⭐⭐

basic folk album

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

it's not in my favorites

He has a beautiful voice, but all songs on this country blues pop album are very slick honeyd and smoothed over. It feels empty. I didn't hate it, but also didn't really like it

It's one of my goals to understand singer/songwriter and acoustic stuff so I went into this with as open of a mind as I could. I think this was a good step. I don't fully understand the draw but I did really enjoy the drums and the more bluesy tracks. I tried to pay extra attention to the lyrics and thought almost all of them were kinda stupid. Still not my bag but I'm learning at least! A light 2.5. Maybe more like 2.3.

2.5 Really wanted to make a Simpsons reference and open my review with “Wow, former president James Taylor!”, but someone already beat me to that, so I’ll refrain. I’ve always liked Taylor’s voice, but I’ve never found any of his music overly interesting. I guess it’s fine easy listening stuff, but it doesn’t really seem to have a ton of personality to it, so I don’t usually walk away with any lasting impression. Fire and Rain is a perfectly fine acoustic track, but never something I jump to. I did enjoy Country Road a bit more than I remembered in past listenings, but then found the guitar work on Oh, Susannah immediately after really annoying, and while Steamroller Blues was a nice take on the specified genre, I found his second stab at it on Oh Baby, Don’t You Loose Your Lip on Me to be kind of cringeworthy. Had a bit more diversity of sound to it than I expected, but nothing that really changed my existing opinion. Not a ton to say beyond that - one of the most “okay” artists out there for me.

Laying the groundwork for his cameo on The Simpsons. (I was going to leave it at that and give this a 3... but then the second half of the last song ruined it. Literally removing a star because of the last two minutes of "Suite for 20 G".)

Beh album for me, had some good stuff but not really my jam

Actually enjoyed the first half more which seemed like typical country music. If it had all been like that it would have been a 3.

So this is a first time I have listened (or heard about) James Taylor, and I have to admit, there is a small chance there will be a second time. James has a beautiful voice, which he uses accompanied by a soft guitar melodies - not quite country, not quite pop, just whatever lays down on the bottom of his heart. And truth to be told, our hearts don't have too much in common. I understand why someone might like it, and why this album is on the list, but I think others would also agree that this music is not for everyone.

Not my thing, okay for one listen but probably wouldn’t go back into it.

Eh folk. It’s okay.

The album does not seem like anything special, as it is just like any other sugar coated mum-country, which I have grown so sick of in modern country, but 50 years earlier

Meh. Found it hard to even grasp at this album.

Thanks to this album, my days of finding James Taylor aggressively uncool have come to a middle. I'm giving him two stars instead of one because someone has to make music suitably bland for elevators and lobbies, and he fills that role with aplomb.

Acolades have been thrown at this album and James too as a master songwriter. I remember my auntie had this in her collection and it's beautifully written, played and produced but for me there's a lot of artists and albums out there with more integrity. Very disappointed listening through - it's insipid and bland. Easy listening wallpaper is all i'd rate it for.

Fire and Rain guy

I can't rid myself of the association between James Taylor and being at the dentist and the inevitable pain after having my braces tightened. Which I had managed to mostly block out until I listened to this album.

Fire and Rain is a classic but I don't really like anything else here. James has a pleasant enough voice but the songs don't interest me much, especially the bluesy stuff which is quite bad.

Nope

Boring derivative rubbish

Så extremt boeing

A bit of a nothing album

Seems like the most common way to get into James Taylor is by way of your mom and you grew up listening to it. That wasn't the case for me, so I have no special reserve of nostalgia for his music, nor does it strike me as being noteworthy in any particular way.

Just completely beige. Musically has no edge, lyrically even less. And it has the Jesus element.  It's a pleasant enough sound, so it gets to a 2, but doesn't warrant anything more, there's nothing of interest there.

No thank you. No..no thanks. There's genuinely no song on this that I'd consider listening to again. But I must concede he has a good singing voice, and plays his guitar well. I just wouldn't want to experience this album ever again.

James Taylor is a 70s pop musician. You listen to his half dozen most popular songs and you move on. But this is pleasant and nice. Nothing innovative or extraordinary, but patient and short with its sweet moments. I have a few favorites, and nothing I hated. Favorites: Sunny Skies, Fire and Rain, Blossom

I'm not into hippie folk music in general, especially when all the songs sound the same. I did enjoy 1 song though. Super boring overall

The folk songs are alright - typical James Taylor stuff flowing gently in the background like a summer breeze. Nothing special, but something to entertain your ears. Sadly, there are also a couple of songs where he tries the White Man Plays THE BLUES(tm) routine, and as so often in these cases, these efforts fall completely flat. 2/5

09/25/22 Listened on the way back to SAT. Only one song I enjoyed. Thought it dragged. Beautiful Birthday weekend:)

People complain about the list having too much obscure Britpop, but to me the real issue is too much generic American country guff. Not bad, just exceptionally uninteresting.

a nice warming and comfy album, i'm just not too crazy about country music ig

The word that came to mind as I listed to it was "quaint", although I'm not sure that's quite right. By definition, quaint means "attractively unusual or old-fashioned," and this album struck me as neither unusual nor attractive. It was old-fashioned, sure, but rather staid and conventional. If Country Music and Elevator Muzak had a developmentally delayed lovechild, it might be named Sweet Baby James.

My dad once described James Taylor as “that guy who can’t wait to bring out his acoustic guitar at a party”. Not for me. Best songs: Sunny Skies, Blossom

finding his feet

sorry but snooze

Υπερβολικα βαρετο, επαλαμβανομενο με μερικες αναλαμπες οπως το blossom και το suite for 20g 2/5

Of it's time. Doesn't do much for me.

As much as the title track and Fire and Rain are undeniably classics, and considering his bitter battle with Warner's recovering decades of owed royalties...I always get the impression there's a very angry and cynical bastard singing the sweetest songs. I may be completely wrong, yet I can't shake the impression.

Boring

Not my thing.

No se me hizo la gran cosa

Probably the most boring, vanilla shit I have ever heard. It wasn't awful, but I just can't cannot get into this stuff at all.

I've never really heard any James Taylor, but have always had a bit of second-hand respect for him after hearing his name mentioned in the same breath as Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young and more in the top tier of early 70's singer-songwriters. With "Sweet Baby James", that respect has taken a bit of a hit. From start to finish, it seems to be the definition of easy listening. The vocals remain in a comfortable range without much "oomph", the melodies are sweet and predictable, and the lyrics are earnest and plain. All of this, of course, adds up to a perfectly pleasant set of songs. None of "Sweet Baby James" is actively grating, unpleasant or challenging, so in some ways it's a little harsh to downgrade an album for not taking many risks. But there's just nothing that particularly grabs me. Even if an album prides itself on a stripped back, easy-listening approach, it's still nice to have songs that stand out. Admittedly, "Fire and Rain" is a good track, as is a lot of the closing "Suite for 20 G", bringing a much needed element of bombast. The most offensive end of the album is the purely throwaway stuff, like "Sunny Skies", "Blossom" or "Anywhere Like Heaven" which are so ephemeral they float by like dandelion seeds and vaporise completely at the end. In the middle are tracks like "Sweet Baby James" (I read on Wikipedia that Taylor was particularly proud of these lyrics... it's hard to see why), "Country Road" and "Steamroller." Hearing that the latter was intended as a parody of weedy white bluesmen redeems it slightly, but still doesn't entirely sell it as a great song. Overall, this album just didn't really leave much of an impression on me, which is particularly strange for a genre, style and era I usually really enjoy. Sorry James, this ain't it.

Milquetoast: The Album.

Luckily this was a pretty short album, so it didn't overstay its welcome. Some nice melodies but I'm just not really into this completely stripped back country sound.

Well. Sweet voice but some problematic material.

'sail on home to Jesus'

Типовой и неизобретательный альбом

one classic

I don't know how long I could be a vet before I got bored and started shagging stuff.

Sweet baby James eh? Bad peodo you lad.

Just too sugary sweet while trying too hard. It was like Splenda on the ears and not in a good way. My mother-in-law loves this tho, so there’s that 🤷🏾‍♂️

Passable. Nothing special.

Alku vaikutti ihan lupaavalle, mutta olikin klassinen tapaus: muutaman ihan ok biisi ja loput tusinakamaa.

Kevyttä ja samaistuksen puute. Kantrivivahteet luonnollisesti ärsytti, mut paikottaiset bluesbiisit toi eloa.

2.5

Saved Prior: None Off Rip: Sweet Baby James, Suite for 20 G Cutting Edge: None Overall Notes: If you played me a 5 second clip from any one of these songs I'm not sure that I could reliably tell you which one it was from and I listened to this about 5 times.

geht 2,5/5

Slow country. Mostly meh. Our Town by James is good but on a different album.

didnt listen

- not really my type agin - can see why this was popular in the 70s - giving white girl in a long white dress particularly with blonde hair and and white head band - instrumental are a plus very calming

Eh. Folky, country-y. Not my case

Not really my kind of music, but he has a nice voice and it's inoffensive. Steamroller was the best track, I could imagine a burlesque performance to that one.

James Taylor is not a churning urn of burning funk. However, this album is a hunk of steaming junk. It’s like a “lite” version of all the genres featured. His vocals and the instrumentation are very competent, but just too nice all the way through.

He can spin some pretty yarns, but doesn't span time well for me.

Fire and Rain- one great song. But the album seems to drag now.

I don’t like country

I just don’t Think James Taylor is for me.

There were loads of acoustic folk albums released in 1979 that I much prefer to Sweet Baby James. I have tried (not very hard) with this album before but it is just too sickly sweet for my taste. Nice but dim.

With all due respect, Mr. Taylor, this isn't the best time for your unique brand of bittersweet folk rock. We have a potentially critical situation here. I'm sure you'll understand.

Man first song in and I don't know if I'll be able to finish this. So fuckin cheesy. This slide guitar is just killing me. I can't finish this. I'll give it 2 stars cause the production is good but god. Ok I'll give it three stars for You've Got a Friend. Actually fuck that it's a Carole King song. Back to 2 stars.

Tja, ook daar verwachtte ik meer aan

Maar een beetje terloops geluisterd, maar wat ik hoorde was wel heel erg saai en veel te braaf voor mijn doen.

Poewee, wat een zijige toestand.

Steamroller Blues

Sweet baby James. Some of your lyrics really ground my gears man. Yeah you had some nice twinkly twanky riffs but, bro, I just could not get on board. And for that reason I’m out.

Good to cook to

Don't understand why this is supposed to be so good. It's all quite weak. He's got a lovely voice though, and it's very easy listening. Maybe that's enough. (The last song is fucking dreadful though.)

Nääääeee inte country. Jäkla hissmusik, 2/5

Was pleasant enough just didn't much interesting from it. Lo and behold was a good track.

Pretty dull.

not sure i'd ever be in the mood for it but it's ok

Really didn't enjoy this much. Some rancid lyrics

Really soft, as in, soft rock. The thing I dislike the most is his voice, which is bereft of soul and totally out of place on the two bluesier numbers. 2 points for Fire & rain.